Thomas Boswell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 24, 2005
11:00 AM
With the debut of the Washington Nationals, a professional baseball team is representing Washington, D.C., for the first time since Sept. 30, 1971.
Washington Post sports columnist Thomas Boswell was online Friday, June 24, at 11 a.m. ET to take your questions and comments on the team, Major League Baseball and his recent columns .
Newsletter:
Washington Nationals
The transcript follows.
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NOVA: Do we have any shot at getting Adam Dunn? I think he would look great in our outfield and it sounds like he wants out of Cincy.
Tom Boswell: Right now, there's no reason to mess with an outfield of Guillen, Wilkerson, Church and some Byrd. You need to find out how good Church really is. (What a catch in Pittsburgh!)
This team needs more pitching. First, decide over the next few starts what you have in Drese. Right now, who knows? If he pitches like he did in Texas, then you have no 5th starter unless Day comes back. That's a big problem. If Drese pans out, then fine. Next, you really need middle-inning relief help. Maybe its already coming back in the form of Eischen and Osuna. But without additions there, you're going to wear out Cordero, Ayala and Majewski.
The Nats hitting is underrated. Their road hitting is fine.
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Lanham, Md.: With Vidro coming back into the line up, which obviously help, who is the odd man out? Do you know the status of Joey Eischen. It seems he's been out nearly two months with a broken right arm. Do we even have another lefty starter? If we are going to make a run after the all star break, we need another LHP.
Also, is RFK still leading the league in not allowing home runs? Since most of Guillen's home runs are away from RFK, I think has three here, is there anything to his comment about re-measuring the distance to the fences?
I guess we can thank the Supreme Court for helping with the new stadium?
Tom Boswell: The Supreme Court decision is a big help. There should be no problem now in acquiring land for the new stadium at sane prices. Nice to see a problem get SOLVED. It also takes away one of the m ain Screaming Points of the anti-ballpark crowd who like to use scare tactics and misinformation. They'd like you to believe that the 14 acres in SE will cost a trillion dollars. Now that foolishness is off the table. They'll have to come up with something else.
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Rockville, Md.: Hey Tom, I am taking my son to the game Saturday night. What are the best opportunities for him to get some autographs? Do the gates open in time for him to see the Nats do batting practice?
Thanks for your great columns!
Tom Boswell: The Nats have a very good reputation on autographs. I assume that, like most teams, the teams who are willing to sign do it AFTER the game on their way to their cars. You'd have to ask ushers, etc., where the best spots are.
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Columbia Heights, Washington, D.C.: Tom-
Love your columns. Do the Nationals have all the pieces they need to make the playoffs? Is there anyone we could trade for that (1) the team could afford and (2) would be worth messing with the team's chemistry?
Thanks.
Tom Boswell: If the Nationals are ever reasonably healthy, then they have a perfectly good hand for the rest of the season. Not necessarily a playoff-spot hand. Maybe, maybe not. But a hand you shouldn't play gin rummy with and constantly discard players.
You have the core of a winning club here now. You need to see how some key players develop (or don't). There are 15 players __all 30 or younger__ who form the heart of the team. Some of them, by the end of this year or next, will show whether they are part of the future or need to be improved upon. 30 or less: Hernandez, Patterson, Armas, Drese, Cordero, Ayala, Majewski, Schneider, Johnson, Vidro, Spivey, Guzman, Church, Byrd, Wilkerson, Guillen.
This is a team whose players are either young or in their prime. The only old key player is Castilla (38 on July 4) and the Spivey deal backs him up for the rest of this year and drafting Zimmerman presumably takes care of the distant future. Loaiza, at 33, is in the mid range. However, in two years, you could see very much the same team on the field __with just one or two free agent additions__ and it could be quite a nice club. If Patterson, Church, Nick Johnson and Cordero __who have all emerged to varying degrees this year__ are all excellent long-term players, then this is a very different team, in its basic ability level, than anybody assumed in February. Almost all the important surprises have been positive ones.
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Pittsburgh, Pa.: As a Washingtonian living in Pittsburgh, I have to tell you that having the Nats play in PNC park is heaven. Great team on a gorgeous field for an affordable price. And I can get a hot dog and beer in the stands!
Tom Boswell: Love PNC. Proves you can build a beautiful park at a reasonable price.
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Fredericksburg: What's the truth - does this team like Frank Robinson or not? Does it matter? How's that Tomo Okha trade looking now?
Tom Boswell: Robinson doesn't care if the players like him or not. He cares that they respect him and respond to his demands like pros, not children. We'll find out how Drese responds to Frank's World. Unlike almost any manager since the '70's, Robinson manages for the whole team, not the happiness (placation) of individual stars. This was always tough to pull off but almost impossible in the free-agent era. However, in Montreal,. he had a bunch of orphan players who needed him so badly for their self-respect that they bought into the "team" idea. It was a thing of beauty to see Drese taken out in mid-count after three innings because he was pitching like crud and throwing away the team's chances to win a game. Looked like he was playing the "innings eater" roll. Throw your 100 pitches, go 5-9-6-6-2-2 and say, "I didn't have it tonight." Or, if you are lucky, go five innings and pick up a cheap win if your team scores a ton of runs. That is a mediocre way of thinking/playing. Robinson won't tolerate it. There will always be players who don't like him. If it reaches a critical mass of discontents (which won't happen this year), then he "loses the team." Frank has mellowed some __and he needed to. So he gets along with players better. He's a better manager than he ever was. BUT there are always going to be sparks.
Eszsentially the Nats traded Ohka for Spivey and Drese. How this works out __as yet to be determined__ will go a long way to deciding how long they stay in the race. Or win it.
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Washington, D.C.: I submitted this before, and I'm not sure if it went through, so I'll try an abbreviated version:
Jason Schmidt as a trading deadline acquisition? Too much to ask? Seems a perfect fit. Would the Giants deal him, given Barry's situation and the fact that Schmidt's contract ends next year? On the flip side, the Schmidt of 2003-2004 seems to have reemerged, and it's hard to get a team to deal a player like that.
Tom Boswell: A lot of teams are interested in Schmidt. The price, supposedly, is SEVERAL prospects.
As far as I know, the Nats don't have several prospects in the whole system. So, though they could afford him, I doubt they can get him without giving away too much (at the ML level).
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Washington, D.C.: Isn't it a conflict of interest that MLB is selling subscriptions to MLB.TV while failing to work out a TV deal for the Nationals? They've got their $20 million from MASN, and now they don't care. It's starting to look like MASN is the only group that actually has a financial incentive to get the games on the air ... Are we really going to have to wait for new ownership to fix this?
Tom Boswell: All good points.
It's a black for baseball that MLB.TV is making a buck while MLB can't facilitate getting a deal done. Talked to an MLB.com exec the other day who said that it was the Nationals themselves who protested when Bob DuPay and MLB were going to arrange for everyone in the Washington area to have access to games l.ive on MLB.com.
Yes, MASN has the incentive. Looks like they are so worried that they'll accept putting the games on Comcast at almost any price so they can at least get ad revenue. For MASN, this situation is the Big Bleed. But Peter can take a lot of pain if he thinks it's a big long-term win.
MLB always says there is "progress." I see none. New ownership may help some. But MLB will never cross Comcast. I mean they won't go within 10 miles of even annoying them. MLB doesn't have the guts or the muscle because COMCAST is too big a player in too many other MLB markets. Bud: "Yes, COMCAST. What would you like COMCAST? Can I bring you a cup of coffee, COMCAST."
New ownership may help, but I wonder how much. A comparable Cable vs. RSN court/legal battle was just settled in NYC involving the Mets. It took about 18 months. I hate the thought of that kind of wait. MLB isn't candid enough to admit that such an ugly scenario is possible. I would love to hear any suggestions on who can put dynamite under these guys and how you do it. Yes, public/media pressure helps. But it has its limits.
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McLean, RE: Autographs: Went to a game against Seattle on a Sunday afternoon. Gates opened at 11:30 for a 1:05 game, and batting practice was over for both teams. However, several Nats were out in the heat signing autographs by the field, including Church. Seems like 3rd base line past the dugout was a pretty good place. There isn't much room on the home plate side of the dugout with the backstop netting and all.
Thanks for all the coverage and the chats!
Tom Boswell: Good info. Thanks.
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Former O's Fan: The last couple years Tom Trebelhorn has been awfully aggressive about sending runners home as they round third, usually with bad results. Happened again last night too. Is he not doing his job correctly, or am I just noticing when it's bad?
Tom Boswell: You are noticing it when it's bad.
How many times have you heard a fan (or reporter for that matter) say, "Hey, the third base coach such made a great decision sending that runner." Answer:Never.
I've told this story before, but love it. Jimy Williams, 3d coach for Braves, sent Sid Breem to the plate vs. Barry Bonds arm in bottom of ninth in Game Seven NLCS. Barely save. Wins the pennant for the Braves. Former President Jimmy Carter comes out of the box seats, jogs through the climbs mob scene and searches out Williams to shake his hand. I've never seen anything like it. Jimy loves the story. Maybe you have to be the guy who makes the tough decisions __Buck Stops Here__ to respect it when somebody else does it right.
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Washington, D.C.: On a mundane but important Nationals note: It's nearly impossible to get a ticket salesperson on the phone for group reservations. Hey Nationals front office: We're trying to support the team -- please work with us!
Tom Boswell: Talked to somebody with a potential ownership group. He says he thinks it is a complete misconception that the current 32,000 attendance is some honeymoon max out. Rather, he thinks these crowds are showing up DESPITE an enor mous number of factors which would usually dampen ticvket sales. Lousy food. Long food lines. Poor fan service, as you mention. Criminally bad TV and radio setups. NO ammenities in the ballpark. NO place to go outside the ballpark before or after games.
EVERY fan at these games is overcoming hurdles to be there and ignoring levels of service/food etc that are far below the major league __or for that matter minor league__ norm.
His point: What we're seeing now he core fan base. And it is big. The job of new ownership, of which he hopes he is part, is to make RFK a fan magnet __or at least fan neutral__ rather than fan repellant.
The RFK experience is unique and exciting. But only because of the team, the fans and game itself. There is NOTHING ELSE at RFK. It is pure baseball played by an inspired team on an attractive field with plenty of good seats, many of them (in the upper deck) at value prices. But that's it. All the things that attract the margin baseball attendee who wants "the whole experience" __for instance, my wife__ are utterly missing. She WON'T GO. I don't blame her. Baseball games mean nothing to her.
I repeat. What you're seeing at RFK now is the core fan base. The rest hasn't been taped. This is not the conventional wisdom. But I suspect the high-bidder for the team will be a group which sees it this way. Then we'll find out if they are right or wrong.
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Baltimore, Md.: Last week you said you'd take Oriole-related questions, so let's see if you remain true to your word. Any rumblings on possible trades? And isn't it about time to drop Sosa in the order? He's an automatic out. He needs to hit 7th at the highest.
Tom Boswell: Sosa's numbers aren't even as good as Raffy's. And Raffy's, while commendable for his age, are nothing special. We're pretty deep into the season and it appears that Sammy has taken another step downward for the fourth straight year. He was the desperation response to fan outrage after the Orioles didn't get Delgado (having another monster year) or any other hitter. Unless he improves, Sosa is a net negative as a rightfielder. Less than average offense, mediocre defense, no base running plus and "some maintenance required."
Now that Roberts, excellent as he is, has stopped slugging at Ruth levels, the Orioles need to get healthy because they are built on hitting. They've played well and with heart this year. They shouldn't be demoralized that the Red Sox are on their heels. There seem to be some fairly unrealistic expectations in Baltimore. This is still a team that's had seven straight losing years, has young pitching that hasn't matured yet and added little of value in the off-season. (Nice middle relief.) Just like the Nationals, this team needs and deserves encouragement from its fans, not "what's wrong with you guys?" If the Orioles end up with a legit shot at the wild card in the last two weeks of September, that is a large improvement. This is a team that, last year, seemed doomed in the A.L. East. Not any more. If Cabrera and Bedard both pan out.
O's and Nats now have the same record: 42-30. Both have had far above normal injuries and both are in first place. Enjoy. But don't start to EXPECT baseball in October.
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Washington, D.C.: Hi Mr. Boswell,
I've enjoyed your work for years to the point I am now a sports writer w/the aspiration to follow a career path similar to yours as a Post columnist, so thanks.
Anyways, my baseball question, how do you think this season w/ the Nats compare w/ the 1989 "Why Not?" Orioles?
I feel a lot of similarities mainly w/ the old stadium and true baseball fans, compared to the first 8 yrs of Camden's corporate ticket holders, in addition to both teams having little to nothing expected from them.
After I thought about it for about 45 seconds, I said, Duh, Frank Robinson mangaged both teams too!
Has anyone asked Frank how these two teams compare?
Thanks.
Tom Boswell: Lots of similarities. I think it's about as sound a comparison between teams as you are likely to find. Both just wonderful to watch. The question: Of the young emerging players, which will turn out to be stars? And will the team keep the right ones. Ballard wen t 18-8. Turned out to be nothing. The young Steve Finley and Brady Anderson both got 200 ABs. But they didn't keep Finley. Instead, built around Devereaux. Olson, like Cordero, was a great young reliever. Olson blew out too young.
Perfect example of why fans should Enjoy The Moment __like Church's catch to end the Pirate series__ instead of living in a future that we never predict correctly.
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The Old Perfesser v. Tomo Okha: Casey Stengal said the secret to managing is keeping the nine guys who hate you away from the nine guys who haven't made up their minds.
Looks like Robby got that one down.
Tom Boswell: Billy Martin changed that to keeping the "five guys who hate you" away from the five guys who haven't made up their mind. I always thought he adapted the aphorism because he knew in his heart (if he had one) that 15 guys would hate him as soon as they really got to know him while the other 10 would merely end up tolerating him.
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Washington, D.C.: Tom -- with Vidro likely to come back soon, and Junior Spivey seeming to be the likely backup (or is he?), what do you think will happen to Jamey Carroll? The kid's been playing very well while Vidro's been out -- can the Nats keep him up in the bigs when Vidro comes back?
Tom Boswell: Carroll stays. Wil Cordero may go.
Carroll has lots of value to the Nats, but not trade value. You need a utility man like him, but can't get much for him. However, Spivey can __at some point__ be "re-traded," if necessary. Also, having Spivey AND Castilla may prove necessary through a long hot summer. The Nats now have plenty of depth. Though Wilkerson and Guillen may get tired later in the year. Even then, Church and Byrd can both play center. There's no reason for this team to poop out.
There should be more concern about Loaiza's neck, Patterson's back, Armas' inability to pitch up to his stuff and the question "Who is the real Ryan Dresed?"
Note: The Nats starters have been lousy on the road all year __except Hernandez. He has five road wins in 9 starts. The rest of the starters this year (including those who are now gone, like Ohka) have four wins in 30 starts. Livan's road ERA is 3.67. All the others (except Drese) are between 5.00 and Armas' 8.74.
The Nats win with spectacular starting pitching in RFK. And they stay close to .500 on the road because, for some reason, they have a ton of really good "road hitters" __Guillen (.327), Wilkerson (.306), Johnson (.309), Church (.350), Schneider (.296), Carroll (.280). And they have NO players with significant at bats hitting below .256 except Castilla (.228) who can ONLY hit in RFK.
Ah, b'ball __it's a mystery.
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Food Service: Went to a game in the last homestand. 39,000 there that night. I was pleased to see that I got my hot dog and beverage and got back to my seat IN THE SAME INNING. Hopefully, a good sign that things are getting better in this area.
Tom Boswell: Wow!
I think you are should be listed among those "RFK Firsts" __like "first home run by a National."
"First Fan to Get a Dog and Brew in the Same Inning."
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Carlisle, Pa.: What does 'go 5-9-6-6-2-2' mean? Best I can guess it means number of pitches per batter, but that doesn't sound too awful to me.
Tom Boswell: People, we have a long way to go.
Memo to new owners: We have nice people in this town who are so interested in the Nats that they will go online to be part of a chat, but they don't yet know what a "pitching line" in a boxscore looks like. I think this is called "potential additional revenue streams."
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Gaithersburg, Md.: Do you foresee the Nats picking up another starting pitcher before the trade deadline with the nagging injuries to Patterson and Loiza looming large over the next couple of months? Thanks for taking my question.
Tom Boswell: To me, with the trade of Ohka and the injury to Day (plus his questionable attitude, which seems to have improved), that is the major question confronting this team in the next few weeks. NOT adding a hitter. When you are 42-30 with a team built on pitching and defense, you first have to make sure that you continue to have pitching and defense.
In the past, Livan, Loaiza and Drese have proven that they can pitch 210 innings. Having three such pitchers help ease a lot of other problems.
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Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.: We can't boo Guzman? Derek Jeter got booed last year for going 0 for 28 or something. Roughly a two week slump. I realize we are not as demanding as NY, but Guuuuuz has be in a 2+ month slump. Hopefully he is breaking out of it. He seemed to be making solid contact in Texas and the first Pittsburgh game. But the last two were lots of pop-ups and K's.
I hope you are right saying he will get it together. More right than you were about the TV issue.
Tom Boswell: Excuse me. I have already been proved right on Guzman. (Hold the applause.)
On the road tripe, he had a six-game 9-for-20 run in which he slugged .900. For all of June, he is hitting .266 with an OPS of .746 __which is 60 points higher than his norm.
The problem is solved. We just didn't notice it. Guzman's OPS was .512 in April, .391 in in May (which ought to be lower than nis humanly possible) and .746 in June.
Wait another month and everybody will be cheering him.
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Section 310, Row 9: Tom,
As a transplanted Bostonian who has adopted the Nats and NL ball, I'm still a card carrying member of Red Sox Nation. The Yanks' new stadium has me wondering what you hear about plans for Fenway. I'd miss it, but still ...
Tom Boswell: Last I heard there is no New Fenway plan. Think it's dead. Be glad to be corrected.
The Red Sox now look like a truly confident team __like the Yankees and Braves have been in recent times__ which thinks that "things will work out." Why? Because they truly believe that they are good. (What they did last October tends to change your self-image.)
The Yanks on the other hand have lots of juicy reasons to be worried. This week's Tampa Bay vs. Yankee series in the Bronx was truly amazing. TB wins the first and leads the 2nd game 10-2 __the kind of lead that is NEVER blown, even by terrible teams against good teams. The Yankees score 13 runs in the eighth inning. 13. And win 20-11. So, what happens in the last two games of the series in Yankee Stadium?
Lou and his urchins beat the Yankees TWICE.
Maybe you can humiliate a bad team SO badly that it bites you. Right now, the yanks have to look at each other= and think, "What a bunch of dogs we are."
Nice investments in Randy Johnson and Pavano.
You can't keep the yankees down for long. They just spend their way out of the hole. But it's great to see them suffer. (Not individual Yanks. It is the "idea" of the Yankees that is hateful.)
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Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.: With the Mets imploding, the Marlin's Beckett on the DL with more blisters, the entire Braves on the DL, and the Phillies' inability to put a full season together, when are the Nats going to start being taken seriously by people other than you and me? I am so tired of hearing how the Nats will fade and the Marlins or Braves will end up winning.
Tom Boswell: The Nationals have had an amazing number of reaks in the misfortunes of exactly the opposiing teams that they needed to see weakened. Even the "path to the wild card" seems to get clearer all the time. Potential pre-season WC rivals like the Cubs (36-35), Arizona (37-37), Dodgers (35-37), Braves (38-34) and Florida (35-34) have wasted almost half a season dawdling around .500. Hey, this helps.
Compare that with the tough WC competition the Orioles have from the 39-31 Twins (two games behind Baltimore) and, eventually, the Yankees.
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Baltimore, Md.: Which of the four other NL East teams chasing the Nats do you worry most about?
Tom Boswell: Marlins. Can't believe they are 35-34 and don;t think they'll be there long.
The Nats have a very manageable schedule between now and July 24th. They could make a very surprising push. Between July and August 25th, life isn't bad for them either.
But if they aren't in very healthy position on the morning of Aug. 26th, they can probably stop thinking about October. They then play St. Louis (3), Atlanta (4), Phillies (3), Marlins (4), Braves (3), Mets (3) and Padres (3). That's as tough a 23 games in 24 days as you'll find.
At least 16 of them are at RFK. Those could be wild days and nights.
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Silver Spring, Md.: Will the Post ever get its act together and start covering the Nats' prospects or minor league system. Beyond a list of players drafted after the first day of the draft there has been very little coverage of player signings and the GCL Nats begin their season today.
Tom Boswell: We probably will do better on this.
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Bethesda, Md.: Bos, The answer to last week's quiz: I wanna be a FLINESTONE. Now that you are back from the Open, let us revisit the grass roots insurgency regarding television rights. We all need a call to action and it is you, my man, who has the most influence among the People. What shall it be? There was a comment last week concerning the DC cable commission having the authority. The comment was a bit DC-centric since Comast's stronghold and regional HQ is in Montgomery County. The FCC would have appropriate influence since strong community interest issues are at play yet I still believe that the US Congress needs could be activated toward constructive intervention.
Tom Boswell: We have a winner! (Someone read to the end of last week's
chat. I am profoundly pleased.)
The Screaming Blue Messiahs hit was "I Wanna Be A Flintstone."
Maybe we need Cro-Magnon Rock as a soundtrack behind our grass roots insurgency.
See you next week. Cheers.
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Fairfax, Va.: Why are the White Soxs the best team in baseball? I can't name one player on the team.
Tom Boswell: OK, a few more.
I can name 'em. I just can't explain 'em.
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Towson, Md.: What happened to David Newhan? Penthouse one year, outhouse the next. He seemed like the real thing to me last season. Guess I was wrong.
Tom Boswell: Guess we were both wrong. Still a valuable utility man. He's played his way into the league __with somebody__ for the next few years, I assume.
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San Diego, Calif.: As always, I appreciate your great work, Sir Thomas --
For whatever reason, Sir Sydney seems to have imploded. Maybe he is one of those players whose career would benefit from a scenery change.
Shouldn't the Os admit he will never be the player they hoped he would be for THEM and get the best they can for him in a trade?
Tom Boswell: Ponson appears to think he will be traded. What was the "flap" last night that had him upset? Idle minds want to know.
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Knoxville, Ten.: Loved your email article this week because everyone seems to be using that stat to discount the Nats. So who gets the boot when Vidro returns? It seems like it would be Cordero to me? Also, any word on if Spivey will mind playing more of a backup role? He could be a great weapon to have down the stretch and someone said he loves the clubhouse and is a great teammate. Also, didn't you say he has some experience at third? It looks like Vinny may need more than an occassional day off throughout the season, but hopefully he can get it going again.
Tom Boswell: Spivey adds a lot of flexibility. He's not going to be happy forever in the role he'll probably have after Vidro returns. But he could be VERY valuable to the Nats this summer.
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Fairfax, Va.: Tom, are the Nats 12 games above .500 or 6? After 72 games, they're 42 and 30. Wouldn't .500 be 36 games? And therefore, wouldn't that mean the Nats are 6 games better than .500 as of today? Or is it figured that they'd have to lose 12 more games to fall to .500?
-A confused new fan
Tom Boswell: Twelve games. That's just the semantic convention.
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Alexandria, Va./ Section 314 Row 8: Mr. Boswell,
I have really enjoyed your comments on these chats and in your columns. It is easy to see your joy in having a team back in D.C. (and winning teams in D.C. and Baltimore).
My question is about Chad Cordero. Do you think he can keep up his great performances the rest of the season with only a 90 - 91 MPH fast ball.
On the same note, do you this Chad needs a nickname from the fans. A lot of great closers have nicknames (i.e. Goose Gossage). I have heard some references to him as the Chief. Maybe a more appropriate nickname would be "Flat-Bill" in light of how he wears his cap.
Tom Boswell: Some pitchers __like Sid Fernandez, who struck out boat loads of people year after year with a 90-91 fastball__ are "sneaky fast" their whole careers. Usually something in their delivery makes it hard for hitters to "pick up the ball" as quickly as normal. For example, the ball seems to "come out of his (white) shirt." I've talked to Cordero about this. He says hitters have always reacted this way to his 90-91 mph stuff __as if it really was 94-95. After about 110 games in the majors, I see no reason why this would change.
OK, that is the end. Something is profoundly wrong with me. I enjoy this stuff.
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